1 Corinthians 3:23
And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.
Study Note
Study Note
The ascending chain 'ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's' completes the theological argument of 1 Corinthians 3, subordinating all human leaders (Paul, Apollos, Cephas) to Christ and ultimately to the Father. The statement reflects an early proto-trinitarian ordering: all things belong to believers, believers to Christ, Christ to God — a hierarchy of belonging that defines Christian identity relationally rather than individually. The verse implicitly answers Corinthian factionalism: to claim 'I am of Paul' is to miss the point that Paul himself belongs to Christ who belongs to God. John 17:21-23 ('that they may be one as we are one') develops a similar participatory logic of mutual indwelling and belonging.
Other Translations
and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.
and ye <FI>are<Fi> Christ's, and Christ <FI>is<Fi> God's.
And you are Christ's; and Christ is God's.
Cross References
While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, …
But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman …
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and …
For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is …
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye …
And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let …